Designated as a heritage site for culture (CCR) in 2016, the Domaine de Thiré in the Vendée, Pays de la Loire, presents an innovative project from the Fondation Les Arts Florissants, bringing together heritage, baroque music and the art of gardens.
THE HERITAGE SITE
The Logis du Bâtiment and gardens, listed in the inventory of Historic Monuments, as well as an Artists' Quarter, is a former farmstead of the Château de Terre Neuve, dating from the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. Around it, William Christie has created a succession of gardens and spaces that are as remarkable as they are eclectic, referring to the art of gardens at its peak in France and Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries. The gardens have been labelled a ‘Jardin remarquable’ (outstanding garden) since 2004 and have been listed in the Inventory of Historic Monuments since 2006, as the work of an artist. Not far away, the Quartier des Artistes, a real little artistic and cultural campus, is made up of old, well-built houses, built between the 17th and the beginning of the 20th century, around the Place de la Fontaine.
THE CULTURAL PROJECT
The cultural meeting centre is developing around the ‘baroque spirit’ in Thiré, in the southern Vendée, the very place where Les Arts Florissants was born almost 40 years ago. It is based both on a major international artistic project around baroque art and on a unique and original heritage site, in a state of permanent creation. Its aim is to pass on a culture and a passion to new generations.
The project is supported by the Fondation Les Arts Florissants - William Christie, created in 2017 and dedicated to ensuring the sustainability of the Arts Florissants project, particularly in its anchoring in Thiré.
The Centre Culturel de Rencontre hosts the Dans les Jardins de William Christie Festival and the Jardin des Voix academy, as well as artists and young landscape designers in residence, rehearsals, educational activities and meetings with the public.
ACTIVITIES AND ACTIONS
Creation and dissemination are at the heart of the missions and activities of the Fondation Les Arts Florissants: production and tours, concerts and performances, festivals including the Printemps Festival and the Dans les Jardins Festival... Closely linked to dissemination and transmission, Les Arts Florissants offers a rich programme of discographic releases (recordings, recordings...).
In parallel to its rich musical programme and two major festivals, the Les Arts Florissants Foundation is actively involved in education and training. It presents projects that have become beacons for young artists: Les Arts Flo Juniors (trainees integrated into the orchestra and choir), collaboration with the Juilliard School in New York and in Thiré, Le Jardin des Voix (the academy of Le Jardin des Voix based in Thiré in the Quartier des Artistes).
This desire to pass on knowledge is not limited to established artists. Throughout the year, the Ensemble and its partners also organise a range of educational and cultural activities suitable for everyone, especially young people. School visits are offered in various municipalities in the southern Vendée, as well as artistic workshops during the Dans les Jardins de William Christie Festival.
Les Arts Florissants are at the heart of the Vendée region. Events that promote the heritage and the region are increasingly numerous: the Ephemeral Garden Prize for young landscape designers, residencies for young gardeners, landscape designers and artists, activities and visits to the gardens, promotion and renovation of the heritage.
The cultural centre project is guided by the spirit in which William Christie created Les Arts Florissants and Les Jardins de Thiré more than thirty-five years ago. Crossing the vast field of Baroque Art, this spirit has given birth to what we can today call the ‘Arts Flo style’, transmitted by all, artists, musicologists, researchers, teams.